Abstract 282: Understanding Current Organizational Strategies to Support Physician Well‐Being in Stroke, Neurocritical Care, and Neurointerventional Practice
Introduction Burnout in medicine is an occupational hazard and has emerged as a pressing concern in recent years. Organizational changes can be impactful in countering burnout (1). The factors leading to burnout in medicine are multifaceted, encompassing organizational factors such as workload, inadequate support, and inefficient administrative systems. The purpose of this study is to investigate current organizational measures to support physician well‐being. This study was an initiative led by the SVIN wellness committee. Methods A 39‐question online survey investigating current organizational well‐being practices was distributed to physicians both nationally and internationally practicing stroke, neurocritical care, and interventional neurology. Data analysis was performed using Python, utilizing the libraries “pandas” and “sklearn”. Results This study analyzed burnout among 109 healthcare professionals, predominantly from the U.S. (93.6%) and Canada (6.4%). The majority were neurointerventional specialists (53.2%), aged 35‐44 years (52.3%), and male (62.4%). Burnout frequency was measured on a 0 (Never) to 4 (Every day) scale. Using a Random Forest model, the study identified key burnout predictors from questions, which covered organizational leadership, wellness resources, compensation, and workload. The most influential predictors were: adequacy of compensation relative to specialty, workload, and stress (17.7% importance); leadership accountability for workforce wellbeing (9.1%); and establishment of wellness or burnout as a critical metric (7.5%). Other factors included provision of wellness screenings (7.1%), and dedication of resources toward professional well‐being (4.9%). Conclusion The study identifies compensation, leadership accountability, and wellness resources as key predictors of burnout among healthcare professionals. These findings highlight the need for targeted organizational strategies to enhance physician well‐being and mitigate burnout. Further research is warranted to validate and expand upon these findings.
Factors Affecting Selection of TraineE for Neurointervention (FASTEN)
Background and importance Neurointervention is a very competitive specialty in the United States due to the limited number of training spots and the larger pool of applicants. The training standards are continuously updated to ensure solid training experiences. Factors affecting candidate(s) selection have not been fully established yet. Our study aims to investigate the factors influencing the selection process. Methods A 52-question survey was distributed to 93 program directors (PDs). The survey consisted of six categories: (a) Program characteristics, (b) Candidate demographics, (c) Educational credentials, (d) Personal traits, (e) Research and extracurricular activities, and (f) Overall final set of characteristics. The response rate was 59.1%. As per the programs’ characteristics, neurosurgery was the most involved specialty in running the training programs (69%). Regarding demographics, the need for visa sponsorship held the greatest prominence with a mean score of 5.9 [standard deviation (SD) 2.9]. For the educational credentials, being a graduate from a neurosurgical residency and the institution where the candidate's residency training is/was scored the highest [5.4 (SD = 2.9), 5.4 (SD = 2.5), respectively]. Regarding the personal traits, assessment by faculty members achieved the highest score [8.9 (SD = 1)]. In terms of research/extracurricular activities, fluency in English had the highest score [7.2 (SD = 1.9)] followed by peer-reviewed/PubMed-indexed publications [6.4 (SD = 2.2)]. Conclusion Our survey investigated the factors influencing the final decision when choosing the future neurointerventional trainee, including demographic, educational, research, and extracurricular activities, which might serve as valuable guidance for both applicants and programs to refine the selection process.